Pujara retires from all forms of cricket The Saurashtra batter who served as India’s Test No 3 for more than a decade calls it a day... kozhikode l monday l august 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION thirteen-year-long Test career comes to an end Pujara, who last played for India in the 2023 World Test Championship final, announced his retirement on Sunday. “Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field - it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket,” he posted on social media CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI First flight-test of home-grown air defence weapon system successful India’s air defence shield poised to get major upgrade to defend against aerial threats M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi IN a big boost to India’s air defence capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the maiden flight-test of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday . IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system comprising the quick reaction surface to air missiles (QRSAM), very short range air defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, and a high-power laser-based directed energy weapon (DEW). The indigenous air defence system was flight-tested at 1230 hours off the coast of Odisha on Saturday . “During the flight-tests, three different targets including two high-speed fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle targets Navy, Coast Guard to get 76 helicopters DRDO conducts maiden flight-tests of Integrated Air Defence Weapon System | PTI and a multi-copter drone were simultaneously engaged and destroyed completely by the QRSAM, VSHORADS and High Energy Laser weapon system at different ranges and altitudes,” the defence ministry said. It added that all the weap- on system components, including the missile systems and drone detection and destruction system, command and control mechanism along with communication and radars, performed “flawlessly”. The performance of the system was The Ministry of Defence on Sunday issued a Request for Information (RFI) to procure 76 naval utility helicopters for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. Fifty-one helicopters will go to the Navy and the remaining for the Coast Guard. These twin-engine choppers, which will replace the Chetak helicopters, will be procured under ‘Buy and Make (India)’ category. confirmed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The missiles successfully intercepted and neutralised the i n d i g e n o u s l y d e ve l o p e d , SHIKRA aerial targets, manufactured by Anadrone Systems. Clamour for Rahul’s resignation grows in Cong K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram The resignation of Rahul Mamkootathil as MLA seems inevitable with calls getting louder from within the Congress for him to step down. Several senior leaders, including Ramesh Chennithala, have stepped up pressure for the MLA’s resignation, though an influential section within the party, including the KPCC president, is of the view that any such action should be taken only after proper discussions. However, they also don’t outrightly oppose him stepping down. The calls from within Congress for the resignation of Rahul, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, intensified after a new phone conversation surfaced. The party state leadership has started formal discussions with senior leaders on the matter. State Congress president Sunny Joseph, who held talks with senior leaders, also sought the opinion of three working presidents A P Anil Kumar, P C Vishnunadh and Shafi Parambil. The party chief will also hold talks with MLAs and senior members of the political affairs committee. According to sources in the Congress and the UDF, Rahul will be forced to accept the ‘truth’ at the end, that he will have to leave the parliamentary ● More on P4 post too.  BJP, JD(U) likely to contest equal number of seats in Bihar polls ramashankar @ Patna SEAT-sharing talks between allies of the NDA for the upcoming Bihar assembly election are in the final stages with sources pointing towards BJP and JD(U) expected to contest an equal number of seats, likely around 100 each. However, both parties are likely to face a challenge in satisfying smaller allies like Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which are demanding 40 and 20 seats, respectively . A senior LJP (RV) leader on a condition of anonymity said, “We have made it clear to contest not less than 40 seats in the elections.” Even if Chirag’s LJP (RV) relents, it is not expected to contest less than 30 seats, sources added. On the other hand, a senior HAM leader said, “My party would not settle for less than 20 seats. We should not be offered fewer seats than what LJP gets. We have four legislators in the state assembly while the LJP has none.” Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Kushwaha confirmed seat-sharing talks are underway and it will be , finalised at the appropriate ‘Aadhaar alone can’t give voting rights’ New Delhi/Patna: The BJP on Sunday accused the Opposition of indulging in propaganda after the Supreme Court said that voters excluded during the ongoing SIR exercise in Bihar can submit Aadhaar along with other documents, asserting that the apex court did not say Aadhaar alone can be a valid document to get voting rights. time. “We will let you know when it is finalised,” he said. Sources said the seat-sharing negotiations among NDA allies is likely to be finalised either by the end of August or the first week of September. JD(U), sources said, would not contest less than 100 seats in any condition. This means, sources said, that the BJP will also not accept less than 100 seats. The other ally, former union minister and MP Upendra Kushwaha has not opened his cards so far, but would like to contest on a ‘respectable’ number of seats. In the 2020 Assembly elections, JD(U), led by chief minister Nitish Kumar, contested 115 seats and won 43, while the BJP fought on 110 and won 74 seats. India-Japan framework on economic security, AI J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi india and Japan are in the process of finalising a new bilateral framework to strengthen cooperation in economic security with a focus on secur, ing stable supply chains for critical goods coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan on August 29 and 30. The framework is expected to cover key sectors including semiconductors, essential minerals, communications, clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and pharmaceuticals, sources said. Both sides are also preparing to announce a dedicated AI Cooperation Initiative, aimed at supporting collaboration between startups and tech firms in the emerging artificial intelligence space. The initiative aims to promote ties between Japanese and Indian firms. “Such cooperation win-win and mutually beneficial and can contribute to the growth of the Japanese economy a source said. ,” The announcement is set to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Japan. Modi may also travel to Sendai to see an experimental bullet train and visit a leading chip-making equipment manufacturer.